Ministry of Health Media Conference on COVID-19 - Saturday February 20th 2021

Key Points from the Ministry of Health Media Conference on COVID-19: Saturday February 20th, 2021: The Minister of Sport and Community Development, Shamfa Cudjoe, confirmed that sporting activity for recreational purposes will now be open. However, these sporting activities must cater to 22 persons or less. Leagues will NOT be open at this time. The regulation will come into effect on Monday. So far, 400 health care workers received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The following is the breakdown: NCRHA: 120 (Wednesday) NCRHA: 96 (Thursday) NCRHA: 76 (Friday) SWRHA: 108 (Friday) Frontline workers in Tobago are receiving the vaccine from today. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Roshan Parasram confirmed that some frontline workers who took the COVID-19 vaccine earlier this week have reported mild pain at the injection site and fatigue for a day or two. Dr. Parasram said the Ministry will stick to the timeframe of 6-12 weeks for the administering of the second booster. The CMO noted that the AstraZeneca vaccine has a shelf life of 6 months from production, but consideration must be given for transportation, delivery etc. Twenty sites have been identified for vaccine deployment in the wider population. These sites were chosen based on physical capacity, layout, ICT, ability for resuscitation etc. The following is the breakdown of the sites within the Regional Health Authorities: TRHA: 3 SWRHA: 7 ERHA: 3 NWRHA: 7 Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh confirmed that 20 laptops have been received from PAHO. These laptops will be dedicated for use at each of the 20 sites. The COVID-19 Hotline will now become a 'Vaccine' Hotline. The media and population will be sensitised on the terms 'side effects' and 'adverse effects/event' of vaccinations.